MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Thuringia, a federal state in east-central Germany, has been mentioned in a Federal Government report issued on Wednesday that names xenophobia and racism a major risk to economic growth in Germany’s eastern states.
“We might face possible consequences when it comes to international investors and the recruitment of foreign professionals and skilled workers,” Tiefensee said adding that at the moment the local authorities had not noticed any significant changes regarding the investment decisions of foreign companies.
According to the minister, shortage of skilled labor force is a typical and severe East German problem since majority of the foreign workers prefer to live and work in Western German states.
Low incomes and high unemployment rates in Germany's east are likely causes of xenophobia rise Wolfgang Tiefensee noted.
“First of all, xenophobia and hostility towards foreigners is not a purely East German problem – but it is a problem in East Germany. It could be a result from the isolation of the former GDR and of the heavy travel restrictions there. However, the reasons could also be socio-economic: Eastern Germany still faces lower incomes and a higher unemployment rate resulting in a greater risk of poverty,” Tiefensee said.
“While these might be valid explanations, they should by far not be seen as an excuse. Rather it must be our goal to resolutely oppose any xenophobic or racist attitudes. The Thuringian Government therefore advocates a tolerant and cosmopolitan Thuringia,” the minister added.
Tiefensee stressed that the majority of East Germans are neither xenophobic nor right-wing radical. “We believe that economic stability and social peace contribute to containing right-wing tendencies and extremism,” Tiefensee said.
The government report cited statistics collected by the federal intelligence agency which showed that the average rate of right-wing attacks in eastern Germany in 2015 per million people exceeded that in the west. The highest rate in the eastern Germany was in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (58.7) and the lowest in Thuringia (33.9) compared to 10.5 cases in the western states.
